Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays an important role in detecting several health problems.  However, a growing trend in many medical clinics is to conduct an MRI scan on patients with back pain, even when serious conditions are not suspected, and before trying conservative, non-surgical management.

Researchers speculate that the problem with the widespread use of MRI for back pain diagnosis is that the scans, which visualize soft tissue like the spinal discs and muscles, frequently identify anomalies that are not necessarily the cause of a person’s back trouble.  The result?  A skyrocketing rate of unnecessary surgeries.

For instance, many cases of disc herniation do not cause pain.  A person may indeed have back pain, and have a herniated disc, but the two are often unrelated.  In these cases surgery can do far more harm than good.

Chiropractic is an effective, non-surgical solution to low-back pain.  Chiropractic care is focuses on prevention — and on addressing the underlying cases of pain and disability, rather than masking symptoms with drugs or unnecessary surgical interventions.  To this end, our chiropractic office works with patients to understand the underlying cause of their pain and stop it at its source.

Unless you are in an emergency situation, schedule an appointment with our office before considering spinal surgery. Dr. Barbara Smith
Chiropractor and Health Educator
health@doctorbarb.com